


the in-betweens

by emilyseyebrow



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: 5+1 Things, Chatting & Messaging, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, George says i love you, M/M, Relationship Study, Twitter, a teeny tiny bit of, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:48:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28605489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyseyebrow/pseuds/emilyseyebrow
Summary: Five times Dream and George find comfort in each other with no one to bear witness, plus the one time that everyone does.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 59
Kudos: 721
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	the in-betweens

**Author's Note:**

> dedicated to ao3 user [@smolricecookie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolricecookie/pseuds/smolricecookie): thanks for beta'ing even though you aren't in the fandom i love u

**one**

They're laughing about something utterly stupid, something that's not even funny after the moment passes. A typical day, for the two, but this particular joke has sent them more than most. Their Discord call rings with boisterous wheezes and cackles. 

They aren't recording, they aren't with any of their friends. This moment is for Dream and George alone, and it seems to drag on forever as their laughs don't cease. Tears pool in the corners of Dream's eyes. George clutches his stomach, gasping for air. As they finally start to calm down and the only noises from the call are deep, steadying breaths, George snorts at the memory and all of a sudden they're laughing again. 

"Geo- George, please, I can't _breathe,_ stop, stop," Dream wheezes. His words only send George even more. 

"Oh my God I'm crying, Dream, stop this isn't working," George tries to say, trailing off into cackles at the end. 

Their reactions spur each other on, as they often do. Finally, finally, when they're both heaving for air and things seem to be calming down, Dream snorts in laughter. 

"Stop, Dream," George says again. It isn't very convincing, given the fact that he's struggling to breathe. 

"I'm sorry, it's just- I just- I can't help it," Dream wheezes. 

"I'm leaving! I'm leaving the call. Goodbye, Dream," George yells. The last thing he hears is a weak "wait, Geor-" before Discord makes a noise notifying him that he's left the call and he's alone again. 

Taking a few minutes to compose himself, George gets a glass of water. Dream seems to have this effect on him sometimes, he thinks idly. He laughs a lot with his other friends, of course, but it's different when it's with Dream. The atmosphere when he's alone in a call with the other man is unlike with any of his other friends, even Sapnap. 

_This is a dangerous train of thought,_ he thinks vaguely, before he's interrupted by a buzz from his phone. He checks the notification to see a text from Dream on iMessage: _good night geroge_

He snorts at the misspelling, and sends a _gn_ back. 

The day catches up to him eventually as he wanders around his house doing whatever chores he has left, and he eventually decides it's time to sleep. With the memory of Dream and his stupid joke and his stupid exuberant laughter at the front of his mind, he drifts off with a smile.

-

**two**

George is woken up by the obnoxious ringtone of his cell that notifies an incoming call.

A glance at the clock reveals that it's just past three in the morning. He groans and rubs his eyes.

It isn't out of the ordinary for his friends to be awake, but it's rare that they'll actually call him out of the blue. Plus, he was on Karl's stream earlier, but had already said his goodbyes. 

As he works his way through the possibilities, he fumbles for his phone. George squints at the brightness that blinds him as the caller's contact name appears. 

Of course, it's none other than Dream. He smiles sleepily and turns on his lamp before picking up. 

"Hello, Dream. This better be important because you woke me up," he jokes.

Dream's response shocks him. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to," he says quietly. 

George immediately sits up straighter at Dream's tone. "Dream? Is something wrong?"

There's no response, only a deep breath and some rustling from the other end. 

George bites his lip and tries again. "Hello? Dream? Are you okay?"

Those words seem to be the floodgates. "No, George, I'm not okay, that's why I called," Dream says bitterly, and it sounds like he's about to cry.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" George asks, concerned. 

"It's just- the whole speedrunning thing," Dream responds. He starts another sentence, but stops. George hears sniffling. 

"Hey, Dream, you can tell me everything, okay? I'll listen to you," he says.

Dream takes a deep breath. "I know," he starts, "that there's always going to be people that hate me, because that's the world of a content creator but sometimes it just gets to me." He takes a shaky breath, and George can practically hear the tears forming in his eyes. "Like right now. because I can't exactly prove a hundred percent that I didn't cheat because I still got really lucky but I _didn't_ and no one is going to believe me." His voice breaks on the last part and George can feel his heart shatter a little. 

He's panicking subtly now. Dream isn't usually this open with his emotions if they're this serious. Sure, he's an expressive person, but he doesn't cry. Yet here he is, pouring his heart out over a phone call in the middle of the night, and George doesn't know what to say. 

"George?" a small voice asks. 

George responds immediately. "Yeah, I'm here, sorry. Just thinking."

They lapse into silence for a few seconds, and then Dream apologizes. 

"I'm sorry, I woke you up and then sprung this on you and you had to listen to m-" 

"Don't apologize for wanting help, Dream," George cuts him off. His tone is gentle but firm, and Dream falls silent. "Listen, I don't know much about speedrunning or statistics or anything but I'll be here with you for the whole thing if you need me, okay?"

Dream sniffles. George takes that as a sign to keep going.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to work it out, right? And even if you don't, it'll all be okay in the end."

Dream takes a big breath. "Because you're there, right?" he says weakly. George can't tell if he's making a joke or not.

"Yes, Dream," he says, smiling. "I'm with you 'till the end."

Dream coughs out a laugh. "That was lame."

George laughs, too. "Okay, yeah, a little, but it's fine." _It's fine, right?_

"Yeah," Dream says after a second. "It is." George smiles, relieved. "Thank you, George."

"No problem. Do you want to stay on the call?" 

"I should let you go back to sleep-"

"No, it's fine, I'm already awake now-"

"And that makes me feel bad because I woke you up!"

They interrupt each other like this until Dream makes his final threat: "I'm going to leave the call."

George feigns a gasp. "You wouldn't," he dares, and is greeted by silence. 

"He actually hung up," George says to an empty room, and giggles at the absurdity of it. He sits in quiet disbelief until his phone vibrates again with an incoming call. He scoffs and picks up. 

"Good night," Dream shouts, and he sounds in a much better mood than the first time he called. "Go back to sleep! I'm going, too, and I'll talk to you in the morning. Thank you for everything love y-" 

The call cuts out as he hangs up again. George exhales a laugh, grinning. 

He's pretty sure Dream isn't actually going to sleep, but he'll pretend he believes it if it makes Dream feel better. 

Come to think of it, he'll really do anything to help Dream feel better. 

The thought circles through his mind, but he forces it away and thinks of other, more comfortable things until he eventually falls asleep. 

-

**three**

**George** 11:46 AM  
good morning!

 **Dream** 11:51 AM  
good morning to you  
are you streaming today?

 **George** 11:52 AM  
nah  
i'll b with quackity tonight on his stream  
but until then im free :)

 **Dream** 11:52 AM  
oh nice  
well i just woke up so im gonna get ready but i'll join ts later if u want?

 **George** 11:52 AM  
sounds like a plan  
seeya soon

**Dream** 4:18 PM  
sorry i left like that i remembered i have plans soon

 **George** 4:19 PM  
:0  
dream making plans with real life people????  
this is revolutionary

 **Dream** 4:19 PM  
shut up  
it's lunch with my mom and my sister and I have to get ready

 **George** 4:20 PM  
cute  
family dinner :D

 **Dream** 4:20 PM  
yea  
it'll be interesting  
also blaze it

 **George** 4:20 PM  
youre a child  
also what  
it's literally 11:20 for you

 **Dream** 4:20 PM  
blaze it (england)

 **George** 4:20 PM  
ok  
have fun  
i;ll talk to you later 

**Dream** 4:21 PM  
ok byeeee  
<3

**Dream** 6:56 PM  
okay i'm back  
we went out for sushI  
like  
real sushi

 **George** 7:01 PM  
not walmart sushi?

 **Dream** 7:02 PM  
not walmart sushi.

 **George** 7:02 PM  
that;s great  
how was it

 **Dream** 7:02 PM  
pretty good  
overall a nice time  
nothing really special about it lol

 **George** 7:02 PM  
that's good? i guess  
glad you had fun lmao

 **Dream** 7:03 PM  
yes  
wbu? what you up to 

**George** 7:03 PM  
well i went grocery shopping  
that was fun

 **Dream** 7:03 PM  
riveting

 **George** 7:03 PM  
ik  
gonna get on minecraft before joining big q  
want to play?

 **Dream** 7:04 PM  
always

 **George** 7:04 PM  
join vc

**Dream** 9:46 PM  
bye georgie have fun

 **George** 9:46 PM  
talk to you tonight?

 **Dream** 9:47 PM  
sounds good  
bye

 **George** 9:47 PM  
bye :)

**George** 12:08 AM  
ok done now  
call?

 **Dream** 12:11 AM  
sure

**George** 2:03 AM  
gn dream

 **Dream** 2:03 AM  
gn <3

 **George** 2:03 AM  
<3

-

**four**

Sapnap's laughter lingers even after he leaves the call. 

It's rather late in England, as most of these types of calls are, and Sapnap's exit leaves George and Dream alone.

"Looks like it's just you and me again, Georgie." Dream tries for a flirty joke, but George only laughs and tells him to shut up.

The call goes on for a few more hours as they talk about everything and nothing all at once. George's bedroom echoes with the sound of his voice, with Dream's right alongside it in his headphones. He doesn't remember too much of their conversation after the fact, but that doesn't matter in the moment. Here and now, he's content to spend the rest of his day doing nothing with his best friend.

Eventually, he's forced to admit that he should sleep.

Dream yawns. George yawns, too. 

Dream wheezes. George laughs, too. 

Dream says, in the type of quiet tone that only seems to emerge during late nights, that he should probably get to sleep. George says, in an equally soft voice, that he should, too. 

Dream suggests they stay on the call. George agrees. 

That's how he arrives in this situation: laying on his bed with the Discord call on speaker from his phone next to him, curled up under the covers as he listens to Dream ramble about everything. 

Something about Dream's voice as he tells his story in that soft tone is comforting to George. His eyelids drift shut as he listens, humming every once in a while to make sure Dream knows he's still listening. 

He's about to fall asleep completely when he stirs at the mention of his name.

"George?" Dream whispers. 

He mumbles a half-hearted response, and Dream laughs softly. "Alright, George. Goodnight." 

George hums again. In his half-asleep state, he's not able to fully make out the last bit of what Dream says before he slips into unconsciousness. Although, it doesn't really matter what he said, if there was anything at all, George vaguely thinks. He smiles softly as he drifts off, the words of his friend from across the sea echoing in his head. 

-

**five**

George waves frantically at his camera, repeating goodbyes to his chat until the stream officially ends. 

He sighs. The stream had been going on for almost three hours, and it had been tiring. He had been constantly switching VC's and dealing with so many of his extroverted friends could be draining at times. He liked them a lot, but they were sometimes overbearing. 

Like now, for instance. As he un-deafens on Discord, he's met with Quackity shrieking and Karl trying to protest him about something that had occurred while George was muted and talking to his stream. 

"Hello again, everyone," he says tiredly, and is largely talked over. His friends have that quality, he thinks, and sighs internally.

"Hi, George," comes a familiar voice. George smiles. Of course Dream would be the one to notice that he'd come back. 

Unfortunately for him and his rising headache, Dream's acknowledgement seems to draw the others' attention.

"GEORGE," Quackity screams, and starts on a rant about whatever he and Karl were arguing about, but he's cut off as George simply leaves the call. 

He rubs his temples and then his eyes. It was too early to deal with this, he reasons, taking off his headset. 

He sees notifications pouring in from both Quackity and Karl, demanding he return, but he texts them both _long day, sorry :)_ before standing up and stretching. 

His phone rings with the notification of an incoming call, in sync with what he sees on his monitor with Discord still open. He's about to ignore it, but it isn't one of his boisterous friends calling to annoy him (he thinks). It's Dream, of course it is, and he scoffs before accepting. 

"What do you want," George says in a bored voice. 

"To talk to you," Dream says smoothly. George coughs. 

"Actually, I'm kind of worn out from today," he confesses.

"Oh," Dream says. "I shouldn't be surprised, I guess." 

George laughs weakly in agreement. He can't help but be surprised that Dream understood without him having to elaborate any further. Dream had noticed all the little signs that he exhibited throughout the day, slight hints of his frustration, and had called with his health in mind. 

The thought sends an emotion through him that he isn't quite ready to confront yet. 

"Well, okay. I'll just go, then," Dream says. He doesn't sound upset, but George knows him well enough to know that he's, at the least, a little disappointed. 

"Sorry," George offers in a weak act of sympathy. He can't bother to put too much effort into his response; he's just eager to take some ibuprofen, lay down, and recuperate from the day. Dream is quick to assure him that it's fine. 

"Alright, bye. Feel better soon, love you," Dream says. 

"Love you too," George responds absently. His head is killing him, and he reaches for his water bottle with a grimace.

The call goes silent, and George assumes Dream has hung up. He's startled when he hears a deep inhale from the other end. 

"What?" Dream asks. His voice shakes, ever-so-slightly, and the strange feeling blossoms in his chest again. 

"What?" George parrots the question back at him, confused. 

"Say it again," Dream prods. 

"Say what again?"

"Tell me you love me, again," Dream says slowly, as if he were talking to a child. 

George, who had been in the middle of a sip, chokes. At least he can play off his flustered state with coughing from the water, he thinks wryly.

"What?" he croaks. 

"You're the one who said it!" Dream explains. George tries to remember, but the whole conversation is foggy. In his defense, he's exhausted and a little bit in shock. 

"I did?" 

"YES," Dream shouts. His confusion seems to be wearing off and giving in to utter glee. "Damn, I wish I recorded that. No one is ever going to believe me."

George flushes at the lighthearted teasing. 

Teasing. That's all it is. Right.

"I don't love you," he protests in an attempt to save this conversation. Dream just laughs. Loudly. It isn't helping George's headache, which is getting worse by the minute as this call goes on. 

"Say it again, George," Dream says. 

"No," George says stubbornly.

"Say it."

"No."

"Sayyyyy itttttt," Dream begs, stretching the words out until they feel like knives piercing through George's skull and right into his brain. He holds fast to his resolution, though, chiding himself internally. The first time he responded to Dream's affection, and he couldn't even remember it. George shakes his head in disbelief, and then winces as the pain gets worse. 

"Please?" Dream says finally. He's stopped laughing, and now his question sounds like less of a joke and more of a sincere request. George can hear the emotion in his voice even through the teasing facade. He sighs. 

"Don't record this," he says, dragging his hand down his face. 

"I won't," Dream promises eagerly. 

A deep breath. 

"I love you, Dream," George says slowly, smiling even against his will. The words taste like honey as they roll off his tongue. They're sweet and packed full of emotion, and he's a little starstruck at how right it feels to finally, _finally,_ say it back.

He crashes back to Earth as the temporary high ends, and immediately cringes. That was not as flippant as he was hoping and he's positive that he just gave himself away. Dream must have heard his tone of voice, how it switched from exhausted to heart-wrenchingly sincere as soon as he said the phrase. Dream could pick up on the subtle signs of George's frustration throughout the day, so he would be an idiot not to recognize how absolutely enamored George had just sounded. Hell, even George noticed. 

Dream is silent, which is surprising, to say the least. George had been expecting a lot more exuberant laughter and exclamations of joy. 

"Dream?" He asks cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm here. Sorry. I wasn't expecting you to actually say it." Dream chuckles weakly. 

"It's the truth," George says before he can process his own words. He immediately slaps his forehead in regret and swears under his breath. The situation is looking more dire by the second.

"Oh," Dream breathes. "Um. Cool."

"Can I go now?" George rushes. His heart is beating ridiculously fast. The warm, fuzzy feeling is back stronger than ever in that place in his heart, and he thinks himself an idiot for not realizing its nature until now. 

"Yeah, yeah," Dream responds absently. "I love you too, George. Just in case you didn't know."

George smiles. "Yeah. Bye," he says too fondly, then leaves the call. 

He immediately buries his flushed face in his hands, groaning.

What the _hell_ was that?

-

**plus one**

**dream** @dreamwastaken  
this video, we coded it so that i met georgenotfound in real life

Dream and George laugh together on a call like teenagers with a secret as the replies roll in: a mixture of keysmashes, text in all caps, general confusion, flurries of question marks, and a combination of them all. 

George is delighted to see that the majority of people think he's joking. 

Ten hours and one transatlantic flight later, another tweet is posted. 

The internet promptly explodes. 

**Dream** @Dream  
took us long enough :)

[Image Description: A blurry selfie of two men locked in a hug. They stand in the middle of a bustling airport, a swarm of people around them. The blond’s face is obscured, buried in the other man’s shoulder and away from the camera. The brunette holds the camera with sparkling eyes, smiling like he's just seen the entire world anew.]

**Author's Note:**

> first dnf fic!! im completely enamored with their relationship as of late and this is what happened.
> 
> if you leave me a comment i'll literally kiss you on the lips /j but seriously i love reading them so pls consider commenting lol
> 
> i also have a [twitter](https://twitter.com/emilyseyebrow) so if you guys want any author/mcyttwt moots then dont hesitate to dm :) thank you so much for reading and have a great day


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